February 6, 1997

President Clinton is proposing a $1.3 billion budget for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for
Fiscal Year 1998 that includes significant increases in funding for endangered species
conservation, wildlife habitat restoration, refuge operations, fisheries, and migratory bird
management.

The President's budget calls for $688 million in appropriated funding for the Service, a $33.8
million, or 5 percent, increase over the FY 1997 appropriation, and $608 million in permanent
funding. "The American people have made it clear they consider conserving our Nation's fish and
wildlife a top priority as we move into a new century," Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt said.
"The President's budget for the Fish and Wildlife Service reflects this desire to see wild places and
wild creatures handed down as an inheritance to future generations."

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency with responsibility for
conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish and wildlife and their habitats. The Service manages
509 national wildlife refuges covering 92 million acres, as well as 65 national fish hatcheries. The
agency also enforces Federal wildlife laws, manages migratory bird populations, conserves and
restores wildlife habitat, administers the Endangered Species Act, and oversees the Federal Aid
program that funnels Federal excise taxes on angling and hunting equipment to state fish and
wildlife agencies.

The President's budget calls for an increase of $14.9 million, or 6 percent, for the Service's
refuges and wildlife program that includes management of the refuge system, law enforcement,
and migratory bird conservation. The vast majority of these additional funds would be used to
support the operation and maintenance of the National Wildlife Refuge System, the world's largest
collection of lands set aside for wildlife. The increase in funding will not only allow refuge
managers to make habitat improvements but also to open up more opportunities for the public to
enjoy wildlife-related recreation such as fishing, hunting, and bird watching.

The budget also proposes an increase of $11.4 million, or 17 percent, in appropriations for the
Service's endangered species program. More than half of the additional funds would be used to
meet growing demands for consultations required under the Act and to develop habitat
conservation plans with landowners. These voluntary agreements allow economic development to
continue on private land while conserving threatened and endangered species. The Service
expects to assist with 400 HCPs in 1998.

The budget also includes an additional $3 million, or 4 percent increase, for the fisheries program.
This includes an additional $1 million to control non-indigenous fish and plant species and to
survey fish pathogens and diseases in 10 critical watersheds. Another $578,000 will be used to
expand hatchery production of lake trout to implement the Secretary's Great Lakes initiative.

"The theme that runs through this budget is that the Fish and Wildlife Service is in partnership
with the American people to conserve our fish and wildlife resources for future generations while
allowing people as much opportunity as possible to enjoy them today," said Acting Service
Director John Rogers.

Other highlights of the President's budget include:

An increase of $5.3 million, or 53 percent, in the North American Wetlands Conservation
Fund. The fund supports private-public partnerships that conserve and restore wetland
ecosystems in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The $15 million from the fund is
expected to be matched by $34.5 million from partners, allowing 337,000 acres of
wetlands to be acquired, restored, or conserved.

An additional $1.6 million, or 9 percent, for the Service's work in support of the
President's Northwest Forest Plan. The $19.7 million in total funding would allow the
Service to continue expediting the endangered species consultation process for timber
harvest and related activities, work with other Federal agencies to implement an
ecosystem approach to land management, and work with landowners on HCPs. The
budget also continues $2.4 million in funding for the Jobs-in-the-Woods program to
employ displaced timber industry workers on habitat restoration projects.

An increase of $300,000, or 4 percent, for conservation efforts in the South Florida
ecosystem, which encompasses 26,000 square miles in the state's 19 southernmost
counties. The $7 million in funding will help restore this fragile ecosystem, which includes
the Everglades.

An increase of $1.8 million, or 12 percent, in the migratory bird management program to
augment the Service's conservation and monitoring efforts for wild birds.